Talking book apparatus



Sept. 20, 1966 P. E. CLAWSON TALKING BOOK APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed July 5, 1963 INVENTOR. PHILLIP 5 Cm NSC/Y ATHMWEYS P 0, 1966 P. E.CLAWSON 3,273,894

TALKING BOOK APPARATUS FiledJuly 5, 19 3 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.PWLL/P f. C: 4/4/60 BY @W G/M 3,2 7&894

Sept. 20, 1966 P. E. CLAWSON TALKING BOOK APPARATUS Filed July 5, 1963 Rm N E V W HIIIIIIIIIII 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 N Z Z Sept. 20, 1966 P. E.CLAWSON 3,273,894

TALKING BOOK APPARATUS Filed July 5, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIIIIIIIIIIIII/Iif 7 /6 47;

I NVENTOR. Pym/P 5 Can/sow A7 7DPNEYS United States Patent 3,273,894TALKING BOOK APPARATUS Phillip E. Clawson, San Leandro, tCalif assignorto Nial K. (lastle and Kay .fanet Castle Filed July 5, 1963, Ser. No.292,981 14 Claims. (Cl. 2749) This invention relates generally toaudio-visual devices as described in my co-pending patent application,Serial No. 79,747, filed December 30, 1960, now abandoned, of which thepresent application is a continuation-in-part.

There have been so-called talking books in the past which have been acombination of single or multiple records, containing a story line to beutilized simultaneously with a separate printed story line. Occasionallya so-called talking book would be published in the form of a record withno accompanying printed story line.

Additionally, there have been books published, as socalled talkingbooks, that utilized, in one form or another, a version of the squeezetoy effect capable of producing sounds like moo, baa or quack.

Occasionally other methods of mechanical sound reproduction have beenemployed such as scraping or drag ging a pick across a width of materialimpressed with horizontal lines or indentations of unequal spacing toproduce the sound.

There have also been attempts to produce talking books by use of arecord keyed to photographic slides.

One other method that has been utilized to produce a talking book hasbeen through presentation of the story verbally as reproduced by a taperecorder.

However, a true talking book, to operate as such, faces the barrier ofan association of ideas, based on recognizable forms that identify it,first of all, as a book and secondly, complete with soundself-contained.

Therefore, any method that eliminates the popular concept of a bookinstantly meets user resistance, as it is then recognized by whatevernew form was required to extend sound to it.

Obviously then, it is mandatory that a talking book must first look likea book. Secondly, there must be a requirement for simultaneousmanipulation of the pages from right to left, as coordinated with thesound which, in itself, must be inherent in the apparatus, or book.

In addition it must also feel like a book. But most important of all, itmust produce sounds, keyed to the pages, in a manner acceptable(manipulatively) as homogeneous to the operation of the book while beingread. In other Words, the production of sound must not be the primaryobject but a corrolary act necessary for bringing about a sense ofachievement or satisfaction.

My talking book effect is achieved through a combination of thesimultaneous use of sight, sound and manual manipulation in connectionwith recognized and acceptable forms, associated with an idea.

In this apparatus the mere playing of the record, by manualmanipulation, is an incomplete and unsatisfactory utilization of thedevice for the operator.

Proof of this is the instant seeking of the correct page and line to befollowed upon commencing the manipulation of the crank handle. Theresulting sounds, upon commencing operation, of the device, whileamusing, do not satisfy the desire to see the apparatus function as awhole.

It follows then that there is created a void in senses left unfulfilledunless the operator can, at the same time manipulate the pages in anormal manner as instructed periodically by the sounds emanating fromthe speaker portion of the device and thus fulfill the complete urge tosee and hear the device perform as a talking book while actually in theoperators hands.

3,273,894 Patented Sept. 20, 1 966 Thus there is created an illusionintrinsic in the device. The manipulation of the device while in theoperators hands fulfills the desire to feel a book. The eyes follow thestory line and read the pictures (it is necessary to state read thepictures because of the introduction of sound efiects into the audiosystem separately from the printed story line), but the ears follow thesounds produced by the manipulation of the handle at the correct speed.The requirement to maintain the correct speed (45 rpm.) is accomplishedunconsciously by virtue of the ears acting in the form of a monitor butextending a governor effect to the finger that is manipulating thehandle. However, the operator is mostly unaware of this as it isaccomplished instinctively in an area of peripheral vision. It must bekept in mind that, in the operation of this device, the head is turnedto the left of center, for reading the pages while the fingermanipulating the handle is to the right of center and therefore kept inan area of peripheral vision and out of the line of sight for reading.

In its final total result it is necessary to achieve a psychologicaleffect. One in which the operator plays and reads the book, but due tothe coordination of the sounds he hears, feels he is reading a talkingbook.

The total effect being a new experience not heretofore produced.

Thus it can be stated, that to achieve the effect of a talking book thewhole apparatus must appear as a book, require all its parts to functioninter-relatedly, have an inherent capability of sound, produced manuallyas an almost unconsciously natural act, that is acceptable as arequirement to achieve satisfaction of the expected result.

The device must have the ability to produce an accept able reproductionof the human voice and other sounds, with close fidelity to the truetones of the original, without the use of electrical power or any motordriven by a spring or the use of a governor to maintain constant recordspeed, and yet to do so, in a confined space, with positive contact ofthe needle point on the surface of the record at all times.

Additionally, there must be provision for prevention of damage to thetone arm and record from the effect of external pressure accidentally ordeliberately applied to the surface either front or back of the device.

Also, in order to prevent the sound commonly referred to as needle hiss,it is necessary to provide for a needle track, running degrees to thecenter of the arc of the groove with the least amount of resistanceobtainable.

In a mechanical reproduction of sound from a record wherein the lateralrecording effect on a record is utilized, clarity of tone and anacceptable level of audio can only 'be created where the needle isallowed a maximum amount of flexibility. In order to create vibrationsclosely simulating those created by the recording needle, it isnecessary to use a low density plastic such as Lucite or similarlowdensity plastic, wherein the plastic is shaped down the side of theneedle in a homogeneous mass, carried back to the point of attachment ofthe speaker diaphragm in a continuously expanding homogeneous. mass.This will provide for a means of the vibrations to be transmitted to thespeaker diaphragm with a minimum of resistance to the vibrations,thereby creating a maximum drive on the speaker diaphragm.

Because of the deleterious effect of resonance created in theconventional mechanical phonograph speaker dia phragm pickup, it isdifficult to achieve close fidelity with the conventional pickup head.By making the tone arm a homogeneous mass attached directly to thespeaker diaphragm, with the needle imbedded in this homogeneous mass,the resonance problem is overcome. Therefore, all of the vibrationscreated by the needle traveling in the record groove, and following itsundulating course, are

dB transferred directly to the speaker diaphragm, without the degradingeffect of resonance.

It must 'be possible to operate the device in various extremes of anglesfrom horizontal to vertical. This is achieved by the utilization of aspring loaded speaker diaphragm, wherein a spring is forced against theinside top of the device, by virtue of the needle point meeting theresistance of the record face when the device is closed, and in theoperating configuration.

The spring loading of the speaker diaphragm carriage makes it necessaryto provide an ability, inherent in the device, to raise the needle offof the record in its return cycle, or when it is desirable, to select aparticular page as a starting point. In other words, the device musthave a selective page feature that can be manually manipulated bymovement of the integrated speaker diaphragm unit, and yet not damagethe surface of the record by dragging the needle across its face. Thismust be accomplished without opening the device, and therefore requiresan external method of manually manipulating the speaker diaphragm unit.

The insertion of the record into the device must be made simple, and yetachieve positive centering and leveling. The record must float on a flatplane while traveling in a circular motion so as to eliminate theundulating edges of the record that would otherwise result and it mustturn with a minimum of drag.

By incorporating a drive line mechanism, with the features of auniversal-joint, a constant flat plane is achieved, regardless of thevariations from an absolutely perpendicular line in the assembly of thedrive mechanism. Otherwise, the vertical assembly of the drive linewould require exceptionally fine tolerances in the mechanism. Theuniversal joint effect must be carried out through three planes-startingat the record as it lays on the back cover, extending through theprimary drive plate, and onto the handle drive mechanism.

In addition, in order to provide a maximum number of playing hours, asimple method of opening the device, and reversing the record, must beprovided, since it is obvious that the recording must be identical onboth sides of the record to achieve maximum playing hours.

The device must provide means of automatic tracking across the face ofthe record, and this is achieved in the device, by utilizing the insidesurfaces of a box-like portion of the device, as guides for the speakerdiaphragm.

A positive position of the speaker diaphragm wherein the needle willalways fall into the correct play beginning position, is required. Thisis achieved by utilizing the inside surface of the box-like portion ofthe device, wherein the edge of the speaker diaphragm support strikesagainst the inside wall and is therefore restrained to its correctposition.

The box-like device must provide the appearance of a radio, andachieve-through the association of appearance and soundqualitiesnormally associated with listening to a radio. And yet, this must bedone with mechanical phonograph reproduction techniques.

In shipping a device, incorporating the features of a needle, underpressure, in contact with the surface of a tablet or record, a drillingeffect of the needle through the record results from thetransportation-carrier vibrations. Therefore, it is necessary to providea means of lifting the needle off of the face of the tablet duringtransportation.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide apparatus capableof producing the effect of a talking book apparatus.

It is another object of the invention to provide a talking bookapparatus of a character which permanently embodies a book, a soundrecord, and means to reproduce sounds from the record, all within theprotective covers of the book, which are themselves a working part ofthe apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ap- (g, paratus of suchcharacter which can be simply and easily operated by a child, on arepeat or selective basis, by means of a single rotary crank andselection lever.

Another object of the invention is to provide a talking book apparatus,in the form of a book mechanism, which is effective to handle records ofrelatively large diameter in order to provide a suficiently long playingperiod to accommodate printed story lines of several minutes duration atan operating revolutions per minute sufliciently fast to produceacceptable sound reproduction in a manually driven device.

A still further object is to provide a device of the aforesaid characterwhich can be simply and easily manufactured at relatively low cost.

It is also an object of this invention to reduce to a minimum, the spacerequired to accommodate a tone arm, speaker diaphragm, needle, andrecordand yet achieve loud volume, and faithful tone reproduction.

An additional object is to provide a novel talking book construction,wherein a speaker carriage, tone arm, diaphragm and needle, arefabricated as a single unit.

A further object is to incorporate a conventional radio speaker cone asan integral part of the sound reproducing unit.

Another object is to produce a hand-activated mechanical device, whereina combination sound diaphragm, speaker, carriage, with page indicatorattachment and record engaging needle, moves, as it travels across theface of a record. A further object in this connection is, that the sounddiaphragm is utilized in such a manner, as to place it in a planeparallel to the record, and which is always immediately directly below aspeaker opening, so that the sound vibrations are transmitted with amaximum of clarity and volume-in a minimum of space and travel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel method ofreturning the speaker diaphragm to its play beginning position,regardless of whether the device is held level or in some otherattitude.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel tone arm, that,will evenly and faithfully, reproduce a broad spectrum of sound, fromapproximately 40 c.p.s. up to the higher range of sound including 4,000c.p.s., or more, with a minimum of distortion.

Yet another object is, to provide a tone arm needle attachment method,that is not subject to vibration load fatigue under conditions of use.

Still another object is to provide a sound producing device-that is sosimple in structure as to require virtually no tools for its assembly,and the assembly of which can be accomplished in a few seconds.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description and from the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective, of a talking book apparatus, embodyingthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a view like FIG. 1 but showing the apparatus with the cover inthe open position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view with the cover open, and the story bookportion open in the reading position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a page-indicating feature;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the parts comprising the phonograph;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the phonographportion of the apparatus taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a reduced horizontal sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG.7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 99 ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a detailed sectional view of the page selector device astaken on line 1010 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the bottom of FIG. 1

showing the method of opening the back, and installing a record;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower end of the tone armshowing the needle in the record groove; and 1 FIG. 13 is a detailedview of the tone arm full scale as molded into the speaker cone showingthe line along which the needle travels and the broadcast effect createdby the shape of the tone arm.

More particularly, referring to FIG. 5, wherein I illustrate oneembodiment of my invention, 2,indicates a boxlike case or housingforming a part of my apparatus. This may, for convenience, be composedof cardboard or a variety of other materials, such as metal or wood, butit is contemplated that it should be composed of plastic. Provision ismade for a speaker opening 3, a receiver hole 5 for the handle 1 andrivet holes 6 for cover 31 (FIG. 1). The box 2 contains a slottedopening 4 to receive a page selector device 9.

Referring to FIG. 8 the box-like case 2 receives the speaker diaphragmcarriage 16 which is pivotally at tached to the page selector device 9.The speaker diaphragm carriage 16 is rectangular in shape and guided inits lateral movement by the inside portions of the boxlike case 2 at thepoints indicated at 47 and 55. The speaker diaphragm carriage 16 islimited in its forward travel by contact with the drive handle shaft.

The speaker diaphragm carriage 16 is limited in its rearward travel byengagement with the inside portion of the case wall 46.

Referring to FIG. 10 the foraminoussheet 51 extending across the speakeropening serves a further purpose by forming a reacting surface for thespeaker diaphragm carriage spring 12 which engages sheet 3 at 57 as ittravels forward and backward in the playing cycle.

The box-like case 2 is designed with a recessed area 41 (see FIGS. 3 and5) to accommodate the rotatable handle 1 and allow the book cover 31 toclose to a flush position as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The recessed area 41 accommodates the rotatable handle 1 at a levelallowing the closing of the cover 31 without applying pressure to thedrive-handle shaft 8.

It is contemplated that the outer surfaces 52 of three sides of thebox-like case 2 be made to simulate the edges of the pages of a book.

Rivets 37 secure the book cover 31 to the fourth side of the box-likecase 2 so that the portion of the book cover serving as the back 54 ofthe book can properly act as a support for a record support stud 30(FIG. 6) which in turn supports the record 27 and lower drive disk 18when the back portion of the cover 31 is in the closed position asillustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.

It is important to note that the protruding portion of the drive handleshaft 8 as shown in FIG. 11 extends through the record hole and intorecord support center hole 28 when the back cover 54 is in the closedposition as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 whereby the record supportcenter hole 28 serves as a bearing 58 for the drive handle shaft 8 withthe back cover 54 serving as a support at 59 for the record support stud30.

Clips 43 are riveted to the back cover 54 to hold the back cover in theclosed position by friction against clip receivers 60 on the inside ofthe box.

Rotation of the record is achieved by placing a finger in the handlehole 33 and rotating it in a clockwise direction 39 at a speed of rpm.Torque is transmitted from the handle 1 by means of three opposed studs7 on a stepped shoulder 61 of the handle 1. These studs in turn passthrough three opposed holes 21 in the upper drive disk 17 which issupported on two sides by shoulders 62 resting on the lower drive disk18 at point 63 and which has two drive legs 28 passing through holes 24and resting on the record 27. Rotation of the handle 1 thus causes drivedisk 18 to rotate and the rotation of the lower drive disk 18 istransmitted to the record 27 through contact attaching the book with thelower drive disk legs 23, of which there are three, protruding from thebottom face 98 of the lower drive disk 18 and fitting into threematching holes 26 in the record 27. The record turns freely on therecord support stud shoulder 29.

The height of the record support stud shoulder 29 is suflicient to holdthe record 27 a distance 68 from the inside face of back cover 54thereby providing clearance for the record. The record 27 is held in. aflat plane 99 and against tilting by contact with the lower totalsurface 98 of the lower drive disk at 64.

Drive handle shaft 8 plays no part in the drive of the record 27 butfunctions only as a center shaft for purposes of alignment verticallyand as a stop 59 for the rear cover portion 54 of the book cover 31 andas a centering device for the record support stud 28 as shown at 58. Thehub upon which pins 7 are mounted engages the sides of opening 5 tocenter the upper end of the shaft 8.

The upper drive disk 17 is held in place on shaft 8 by a lock or clampwasher 19 and against the lower face of the handle opening 5, on face 65of shoulder 66.

The hole 67 in the lower drive disk 18 allows the drive handle shaft 8to pass through to the record support stud 311 as does the center hole22 in the upper drive disk. The drive handle shaft 8 performs theadditional function of acting as a shaft to receive the lock or clampwasher 19 to hold the upper drive disk 17 in place against shoulder 66.

The record center hole 25 is slightly larger than a stanclard A; inchhole to accommodate the record at the record support stud 30 on therecord support stud shoulder 29.

As the handle 1 is rotated clockwise the speaker diaphragm carriage 16travels towards the center of the boxlike case 2 until the operatorchooses to stop or the playing cycle is completed. This forward travelis caused by engagement of the needle 48 with the record 27 at a pointin the usual spiral sound groove in the upper surface of the record 27as illustrated in FIG. 12 and is contained there by the shoulders of theV shaped groove 87. This sound groove 87 is of an undulating character,pressed into the record 27. The force of spring 12 against the plate 57keeps the needle 48 seated in the sound groove 87 while sides 47 and 55along with shoulder 71) (see FIG. 9) guide the carriage 16rectilinearly. Spring 12 and shoulder along with spaced feet 15 keep theneedle in perfect vertical alignment thus allowing forward or reversemovement without the needle digging into the record 27 on reverse play.

Additional control of the speaker carriage is achieved by pivoting apage selector and indicator arm 9 to the speaker carriage 16 at 4-5. Theselector arm 9 is provided with a manually depressable plate 11] thatcan be depressed and which then serves to raise the needle 48 through afulcrum effect at 14. When depressed, with the finger, the page selectordepress plate 10 is moved with the finger forward or backward and in sodoing moves the speaker carriage 16, and consequently the needle 48, toany point indicated along a group of numbers 32 (see FIG. 4) keyed topages of the story appearing in book 34.

Depressing plate 10, therefore, allows the operator free selection ofthe starting point for playing the record 27. As the needle 48 travelsacross the record 27 its progress is reflected by progressive travel ofthe indice point 72 of the depress plate 10.

Correct operation of the book is achieved through sight, sound andmanual manipulation of the handle 1. Turning handle 1 clockwise bringsforth instructions as indicated by 74 in FIG. 3 and is verified byvisual reference 73 at which point the coordinated word-sound iscontinued by reference to the printed portion of the story andcontinuing to listen to the oral recitation emanating from the speaker74 which is identical to the printed portion of the story 75.

The speaker carriage 16 is composed in one piece of Lucite or Plexiglasor other suitable plastic. Its general features are its legs 15 andselector arm attaching ear 11. It has a hole 77 to accommodate thespring 12 and a rivet 78 for securing the spring thereto. It has a leftedge 80 and a right edge 81 as well as a front edge 49 and a rear edge'79, also an inside peripheral edge 82 to accommodate a speakerdiaphragm cone 13 and with the diaphragm in place as illustrated in FIG.6 a tone arm receiver hole 83 in which plastic 84 is molded so as togrip the edges of the paper speaker cone. The plastic molded into thereceiver hole 83 should be Lucite or Plexiglas to achieve maximumclarity, volume and tone and must be molded to the edge 85 of thespeaker cone.

The angle between the molded tone arm 86 land line 88 (FIG. 13) must be45 degrees more or less to eliminate needle hiss. In addition the needlemust move along a radius of the record 27. This places the needle 48exactly at the maximum point of travel of each arc of the impressedrecord grooves and thereby achieves a twisting and rotating efiect onthe tone arm 14. Because of the biased installation ofthe molded tonearm 14 in relation to the lateral oscillations of the needle 4 in thelateral cut 87 (as opposed to a hill and dale cut) of the record groove,uniform sound vibrations are distributed along the edges of the tone arm14 as illustrated in FIG. 13 at 88 and FIG. 8 at 88, thus creating aloud clear tone reproduction. The needle travel in its oscillations isshown in FIG. 12 as generally indicated by 88. The molded tone armreaching down over the needle as an inverted cone 89 lets the tip of thetone arm 89 act as an extension of the needle with an inherentelasticity that assists the tip of the tone arm 14 to vibrate with theneedle, hereby increasing the reproductive potential of the needle tonearm combination to such a degree as to achieve remarkable clarity, toneand volume. Best results are achieved through use of Lucite or Piexiglasin this application but other plastics work well too. The shape of thetone arm 14 is a generally pear shape with a conical head 89 grippingthe needle 4, the tone arm produces a scattering effect (see 91, FIG.13) escaping to the rear or large end 89, much as a pie-shaped segmentof a disturbed circle of water would look after tossing a rock intostill water, and as illlustrated generally in FIG. 13. The length of theneedle has a definite bearing on this as a needle any longer than of aninch is detrimental to the clarity and volume of sound produced by thismethod. Also, the needle must not be gripped over more than /3 of itsover-all length by the tone arm 86 or volume will be sacrificed. Thus, atotal of 2% inches of effective escape surface is created for the soundvibrations, taking into consideration the distance around the peripheraledge of the molded tone arm 14 that is in actual contact with and moldedto the speaker cone 13.

It is important to note that the molded tone arm 14 has a distinct taperto a feathered edge 101 (FIG. 9) which distinctly enhances vibrationescape by acting in the manner of a reed.

In the process of manufacturing the unitized speaker cone, it should benoted that it is contemplated that plastic molding is not the onlymethod that can be used to achieve a satisfactory result. While mold-ingis cheaper and more satisfactory, acceptable results can be achieved bygluing with a suitable adhesive and the plastic carriage could beassemble-d from out parts with the needle 4 being inserted in a drilledhole in the tone arm 14 and glued into place.

A rivet to hold the carriage spring is indicated at 78 and a pivot pinfor the page selector :lever is indicated at 96.

Pages 34, 16, more or less, are utilized as the book portion of theapparatus and are bound in the usual manner at 95 (FIG. 2') remaining inthe closed position after opening the top cover portion 31 of the book.They are held in place at 35 on the cover by binding to the insidesurface of the cover 31, the whole cover 31 being held in place byrivets 37. Addition-ally, opening the book reveals the story lines '75.

The box-like case 2 is set inwardly from the edges of the cover 31 so asto give the visual appearance of a book.

An additional method of binding the book woulld be conventional bindingreplacing the rivets 37 with a suitable glue and it is contemplated that-I may choose to do so.

Closing the top cover 31 as in FIG. 1 brings pressure to bear on thepage selector pressure plate 10 thereby lifting needle 48 off of therecord 27 through the fulcrum effect created by the curve of theselector lever 9 as generally indicated 44 in FIG. 10. Raising the cover31 revleases the pressure on the selector lever plate 10 allowing theneedle to drop onto the record 27 so that playing may commence.

Although I have illustrated and described a preferred form of myinvention, I contemplate that various changes and modifications can bemade therein without departing from the invention, the scope of which isindicated by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A talking book apparatus comprising: a generally flat housing havingupper and lower covers hinged thereto, said housing and covers beingconfigured to simulate a book; a booklet having a plurality of pagesmounted on the inner face of said upper cover and having a story printedthereon; a record in said housing having said story recorded thereon invoice pronounciation of the words printed in said booklet; means in saidhousing for reproducing the sound recorded on said record; and manuallyoperable drive means for said record and reproducing means accessible toan operator from the top of said housing and only when said upper coveris open whereby an operator may manipulate said booklet pages whilereading the story material thereon and simultaneously operate saidrecord and reproducing means to reproduce the recorded sound of saidstory material in synchronism with the reading thereof.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a topwall; an upwardly open recess in said top Wall; said manually operabledrive means comprising a crank arm journalled in the bottom of saidrecess and rotatable therein whereby said upper cover may be closedsnugly against said upper wall without interference from said crank arm.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said lower cover has means onthe inner face thereof for rotatably supporting said record and saiddrive means including a rotatable member releasably engaging said recordwhereby opening said lower cover disengages said record from said drivemeans and renders said record accessible for replacement or reversal.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a topwall; said sound reproducing means including a needle mounted in saidhousing for movement across the upper face of said record; resilientmeans biasing said needle toward said face of said record; retractingmeans for [lifting said needle from said record against the biasingaction of said resilient means and including a depressible actuatingmember extending upwardly through said upper wall whereby closing saidupper cover depresses said member and retracts said needle from saidrecord and whereby opening said upper cover releases said member andpermits said resilient means to move said needle into engagement withsaid record.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said member is operativelyconnected to said needle to move therewith as said needle moves acrosssaid record; a slot in said upper wall parallel to the direction ofmovement of said needle; said member extending upwardly through saidslot for movement therealo-ng; indicia on said upper wall jacent $81Gslot and identifying sequential portions of said story material; pointermeans on said member cooperating with said indicia to thereby indicatethe portion of said story material being reproduced by said needle andwhereby an operator may manually manipulate said member to retract andmove said needle to reproduce any selected portion of said storymaterial.

6. Sound reproducing apparatus comprising: a housing having a top wall,opposed side walls and a Ibottom wall hinged thereto; means on saidbottom wall for rotatably supporting a record thereon; manually operablemeans rotatably supported by said top wall and releasably engageablewith said record, when said bot-tom wall is closed, for rotating saidrecord; and sound reproducing means in said housing, engageable withsaid record for reproducing sound recorded thereon, said means on saidbottom wall comprising a boss having an annular shoulder for supportingsaid record about a center hole therein; said boss having a centralopening; said manually operable means including a crank arm above saidupper wall and a shaft fixed thereto and depending therefrom; the lowerend of said shaft being removably received and journalled in saidcentral opening, said means releasably engageable with said recordcomprising a disk loosely surrounding said shaft and having projectionsengageable in corresponding openings in said record; means connectingsaid disk to said crank for rotation therewith; and means on said crankpressing said disk into firm contact with said record, said disk beingof substantially greater diameter than said annular shoulder; said meanspressing said disk in to firm contact with said record being fixed tosaid crank and engaging said disk radially outwardly of said annularshoulder to thereby stabilize said record against tilting movementsrelative to the axis of said shaft.

7. Sound reproducing apparatus comprising: a housing having a top wall,opposed side walls, and a bottom wall; at least two of said side wallsbeing parallel; means rotatably supporting a record in said housing;means for rotati-ng said record; and sound reproducing means in saidhousing including a carriage freely slidable therein and being slidablyguided for linear movement by said parallel side walls; a speaker onsaid carriage; a tone arm secured to said speaker; a needle on said tonearm so positioned as to move radially of said record as said carriagemoves along said parallel side walls, said carriage comprising aplate-like member spaced from said bottom wall; spacer means carried bysaid plate at one side thereof and slidably engaging said bottom wall;spring means carried by said plate at the other side thereof andslidably engaging said upper wall; said speaker, tone arm and needlebeing between said spacer means and spring means whereby said springmeans yieldalbly presses said needle against the upper surface of saidrecord; manually operable means connected to said plate-like memberadjacent said other side for lifting said other side in a direction awayfrom said record and against the action of said spring means whereby tolift said needle from said record to permit selective movement of saidcarriage for positioning said needle at a selected radial positionrelative to said record, said upper wall being provided with anelongated slot; said manually operable means extending upwardly throughsaid slot for movement therealong with said carriage, said manuallyoperable member comprising a rigid generally V-shaped member pivoted atone end to said plate-like member, with its apex slidably resting onsaid bottom wall, and its other end extending upwardly through saidslot; and a head on its other end normally spaced above said upper wallwhereby manual depression of said head rocks said member about its apexas. a fulcrum and lifts said needle from said record.

8. In a sound reproducing apparatus: a carriage; means guiding saidcarriage for movement along a predetermined linear path; a speaker conesecured at its outer periphery to said carriage; an opening in the apexof said cone; a tone arm having a peripheral portion fixedly secured tosaid cone at the periphery of said opening and supported wholly by saidcone; and a needle secured to said tone arm laterally olfset from thecenter of said opening but adjacent the apex of said cone.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said needle is offset fromthe center of said opening in a direction oblique to said predeterminedlinear path.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said needle is offset fromthe center of said opening in a direction extending at approximatelyforty-five degrees from said pre determined path.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said carriage and said tonearm are of molded plastic material, molded to embrace the associatedperipheral portions of said cone.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said tone arm is a generallyfiat structure arranged to lie in a plane forming an angle ofapproximately 15 with the plane defined by the outer periphery of saidcone.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said tone arm is ofgenerally pear shape in horizontal outline; said needle being fixed tothe narrow end thereof and said tone arm tapering in thickness from saidnarrow end to the other end thereof.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said tone arm is a moldedpolymethylme-thacrylate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,3 16,174 4/1943 Kurzen 2741 2,316,175 4/1943 Kurzen 2741 X 2,470,435 5/ 1949 Gold274-1 2,886,328 5/1959 Duncan 2741.1 3,073,605 1/ 1963 Mennie 274-93,086,297 4/1963 Kay 27414 X 3,184,241 5/1965 Jones 27'49 X FOREIGNPATENTS 1,007,839 2/1952 France.

515,852 12/1939 Great Britain.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

W. E. JACKSON, Assistant Examiner.

1. A TALKING BOOK APPARATUS COMPRISING: A GENERALLY FLAT HOUSING HAVINGUPPER AND LOWER COVERS HINGED THERETO, SAID HOUSING AND COVERS BEINGCONFIGURED TO SIMULATE A BOOK; A BOOKLET HAVING A PLURALITY OF PAGESMOUNTED ON THE INNER FACE OF SAID UPPER COVER AND HAVING A STORY PRINTEDTHEREON; A RECORD IN SAID HOUSING HAVING SAID STORY RECORDED THEREON INVOICE PRONOUNCIATION OF THE WORDS PRINTED IN SAID BOOKLET; MEANS IN SAIDHOUSING FOR REPRODUCING THE SOUND RECORDED ON SAID RECORD; AND MANUALLYOPERABLE DRIVE MEANS FOR SAID RECORD AND REPRODUCING MEANS ACCESSIBLE TOAN OPERATOR FROM THE TOP OF SAID HOUSING AND ONLY WHEN SAID UPPER COVERIS OPEN WHEREBY AN OPERATOR MAY MANIPULATE SAID BOOKLET PAGES WHILEREADING THE STORY MATERIAL THEREON SAID SIMULTANEOUSLY OPERATE SAIDRECORD AND REPRODUCING MEANS TO REPRODUCE THE RECORDED SOUND OF SAIDSTORY MATERIAL IN SYNCHRONISM WITH THE READING THEREOF.